- Pakistan Rupee (PKR) falls today but strengthens this week
- Pakistan inflation to hit 10%
- US Dollar (USD) rising after steep losses in Monday
- US JOLTS job openings in focus
The US Dollar Pakistan Rupee (USD/PKR) exchange rate is rising on Tuesday paring losses from the previous session but remains firmly in negative territory so far this week. The pair settled -0.56% lower on Tuesday at 152.09. At 11:00 UTC, USD/PKR trades +0.7% at 153.17.
Inflation in Pakistan rose 0.3% month on month in March owing to rising food prices, although these were offset to a degree by falling housing and utility. Annually inflation is at 8.4%, down from 11.6% the same period a year earlier.
Pakistan headline inflation is expected to rise to 9.1% in March with the rising inflation trend expected to continue until June. Analysts expect inflation to top 10% in this quarter before easing lower. The finance minister for Pakistan reiterated that controlling inflation was a top priority.
Oil prices are on the rise after diving 4% in the previous session. West Texas Intermediate trades up 1.6% at 59.64 ahead of API stock pile data later today.
The US Dollar is gaining versus the Rupee and is ticking higher versus its major peers. The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus a basket of major currencies trades +0.16% at the time of writing at 92.72.
The US Dollar Index is picking up after dropping 0.4% in the previous session and hitting a two week low overnight. The greenback experienced its biggest one day fall in three weeks despite a strong outlook for the US economy.
The US Dollar has surged across the first three months of the year amid rising expectations of as strong US economic recovery.
Friday’s much stronger than expected monthly payroll report supported the upbeat outlook for the US economy, as did ISM service sector data which revealed that the US economy was firmly on the right track. The ISM service sector PMI for March hit 63.7 whereby 50 separates expansion from contraction.
Attention will now turn to JOLTS job opening data due later today.
